# U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Patent Backlog Reduction Efforts Pose Risks to Examiner Retention and Examination Quality

- Source: GAO Reports
- Published: 2026-11-05T12:21:13+00:00
- Category: Local
- Original: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108491
- Canonical: https://groundlevelnews.com/story/u-s-patent-and-trademark-office-patent-backlog-reduction-efforts-pose--f8b2b1/

What GAO Found The backlog of unexamined patent applications awaiting an initial decision from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rose to about 838,000 applications in January 2025. In September 2025, the USPTO announced a goal to reduce the backlog to under 599,000 applications but did not specify a time frame for reaching it. The backlog was last at that level in 2020. To redu

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